Safety-valve mechanism and signal for pneumatic tires.



r R. E. McKEE. SAFETY VA LVE MECHANISM AND SIGMA L FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10,1915- 1,250,476. Y Patented Dec. 18,1917.

R. E. McKEE. SAFETY VALVE MECHANISM AND SIGNAL FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.APPLICATION rnzowov. "3,1915- 1 ,25 0,476. Patented Dec. 18; 1917.

2 SHEETS-4BR] 2.

,blow-outs.

also whistle as a signa m1" TED STATE A m nmr vronn E. MoKEE, oroHIoAeo, ILLINOIS, assmnon or oNE-IIALF'rooscAn l3 HAM IEns vIIrH, orCHICAGO, .ILLmoIs I SAFETY-VALVE MECHANISM AND SIGNAL PNEUMATIC TIRES.

To allx'w'hom it may concern Be it known that I, RAYMOND E. MGKEE, ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Safety- ValveMechanism and Signal for Pneumatic Tires, of which the following is aspecification; i

This invention relates to safety-valves and more particularly tosafetyvalves and si als for pneumatic tires and the like, an has amongits objects the production of a combined safety-valve and low pressuresignal which will prolon the life of neurnatio tires and prevent w at iscommon y termed,

Two principal causes underlie the blowing upof penumatic tires: first;under-inflation, and: second, over-inflation. I

When an-automoblle is run wlthtires under inflated the sides of the tireare subected to a greater bending motion,,which asa tendency of .aduallyweakening and breakin the fibers 1n thematerial and there-- by pro ucinga weakened tire which easily bursts when the air pressure is increasedtherein.

Also, an over-inflated tire may burst when the air in the tire issufiiciently heated to an excessive air pressure for a weakened" portionin the tire;

The principal object of this invention resides in the provision of asafety-valve and signal forpneumatic tires which will auto maticallyexhaust or relieve the pressure in the tire when thepressure has beenraised above a re-determined oint, and which will l and warnin when thepressure in the tire is lowered below a certain desired low-pressure. Q1 With the above andoth' objects in view, the inventionconsist's in thedetails'of con struction andin the arrangement and combination of partshereinafter described and plarticularly pointed out inthe appended caims. I

, In describing the invention in' 'detaiL reference:.will be had to theaccom nymg,

drawings, wherein like referen'ceflcharacters; denotecb' "pending parts"'n' the severalin diameter and threaded as at 15; to fit the"Speoiflcatlonot Letters Patent. Patented D 41 8, Application filedaovember o, 1-915. Serial No. 60,659.

Figure l is a vertical section of, vention taken on line XX of Fig. 2. Fg. 2 Is an exterior'elevation (if devlce. v

Fi 3 is a view corresponding tofF but s owing the'p'rincipal interiorm'ein elevation. h Fig. 4 is an elevation of the whistle and operatingmembers. i v 6 F g. 5 illustrates a part interior .view of a v.modlfi'ed whistleoperating lever; and 6 a front elevationof the whistle.

F1 an g j nlineT'tt of Fig. 5; and Fig; 8 is an enlarged detail viewtaken on line 88 of Fig. 7. Z I Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail of asidevof the beveledpin on the whistl ecap,

Referring to the drawings, my device 0 sists of a lower bodymember'havin a threaded connection 10 with a cylindrical wall. member.11 which latter also has a}, threaded connection 12 with the cap 13."fIh My member 9 s p d d Wi ha e I.

tral bore l' liwhich has" a portion decrease end ofastandard pneumaticthe tube ."(notfj shown), the construction "ofwhich iswell Iuncle'rstoodin the art. i

he threaded connection 15 a iito dwphmgm chamber t oor 17 of which,

slopes downwardly toward the center de pression 18 which depressioncommunicates w th the top of the interiorly threaded bore 15 throughseveral holes 19, which are drilled in the web 20, to admit the air fromthe pneumatic tire-tube orifice when'the usual projecting valve stem,similar to -stemBl, is depressed by being brought into engagement withthe underside of the-web 20. Therefore, afslong as my device is attachedto thetiie tube,there ,(will be constant communication between theinterior of the diaphragm chamber 16 f end the interior of the'pneumatic tire.

The diaphragm 21 made "preferably of hardened brass, is" securelyretained bythe threaded disk 22 which is dished'on the P lower face toallow for movement of thedia- I -"phragm." I Centrally connectedwith,said .diaphragmf 1m 21, b mean of. the s-rewf23 is a vertically,

' dcdfwith:

moyable-mbala member 52 tween the valve 30 and the metal rest orshoulder 33 As is well understood, the stem 31 projectsnormall a littleabove the orifice or terminal 25*. he screw 23 is rovided with alongitudinal bore 24 to a 0rd constant communication between theinterior of the pneumatic tire and the bore 26.

An enlarged portion 34 located on the 'exterior lower part of thetubular member 25 forms a seat for a coiled spring 35,,the upperend ofwhich abuts against the adjusting thumb screw 36 which has a screwedconnection within the disk 37 which disk is screw-connected within theupper part of the cylindrical member 11.

The adjustin thumb screw 36 is provided with a central ore to fit andguide the tubular member 25 in its vertical movement, and is so arran edthat by turning the screw 36 in or out, t e spring is more or lessCompressed and the pressure of the valve member 25 on the dia hragm 21is varied, thereby affording a variable point of exhaust for the valve30.

The illustrations show the device in a condition "with just enough airpressure within the diaphragm chamber and with the stem 81 a shortdistance from the inside of the top of cap 13. It is obvious, that whenthe pressure within, the tire and diaphragm chamber -..exceeds a certainpredetermined point of Se which is controlled by said adjusting screwand spring 35, the pressure against the diap 21 will continue to raisethe tubular valve ihernber 25 until the valve stem 31 engages the udderside (if the cap 13 and thereby displaces the'walve '30 to relieve thethe excessive pressure and exhaust same through the openiingg's'il' indisk 37 I and out through the perforations 11 in the wall 11. The part34 is formed with an extending portion 34 which supports the valve 38,of

similar construction as the valve- 30,-and which valve 38 is carried inthe tube 39 over which is placed the cylindrical ca provided with thediaphragm 42 an opening 41 forming a whistle signal.

This whistle signal is operated by means as cally extended collar 49which guides or con fines the lower part of the cap 40.

A hook 50 is ivotally mounted at 51 on the upper part 0 bar 48. A bentflat spring 52 is securely retained between the extension 50 and thesupporting bar 48 to retain the hook normally in operative position.

A beveled pin 53, mounted on top of disk 22, is arranged to engage. thebeveled end 50 and thereby release the'hook 50 from en agement with thecap lu 4O by gradua ly fending the lever en 50 inwardly against thespring 52 as the valve travels downwardly. The whistle cap 40 isprovided with a guide pin 40 which moves so within the slot 49 and keepsthe cap 40 from, turning about its vertical axis.

It will be understood that theunden-in fiation whistle signal willoperate when for any reason the pressure within the tire decreases so asto lower the tubular valve member 25 and the adjacent whistle valve 38.

The construction in operation is such that, while both the whistle valve38 and cap 40 are .drawn downwardly as the pressure decreases, thewhistle cap travels at a reater speed than the valve within the a jacenttubular member which supports it on the extended collar. The increasedspeed of the cap is caused by the relative point or points of contact ofthe cap and the tubular member with the operating lever 44; that is, thedistance from the end of lever 44, from which it enggges the cap 40-andmoves same through the medium of the hook 50, to the.

pivot 45 is greater than the distance from the pin 46 to the pivot 45.It is obvious that the end of lever 44 travels through a longer are inthe/same time than the distance through which the pin 46 on the'tubularmember travels. 'In the downward movement of the cap 40 the diaphragm 42within will engage the stem of valve3S and will continue to graduallydepress same against the pressure of its coiled spring 38 to ex- 11?haust the air through the openings 43 and s 41 to sound thewhistle'alja-rm until thebeveled end 50 of the extension 50 is depressedby the in 53-to release the cap from the hook 50 an thereby close valve38. 11%

. In the modified form of construction illus-- 'trated-by Figs. 5 to Sinclusive, the construe-- a lever 44 pivotally mounted at one end theparticular modification residing-in the thereof in the support 45 whichsupport is mounted on' disk 22. I r

A pin 46 is secured within the collar 34 and extends through the slot 47of the lever 44.

The other end of the lever-44 is pivotally connected with a verticallymovable flat bar 48 which is guided partly in the disk 22 and also by apair of-bent edges 49 of the'vertipoint near this 'slo t 47 to theextreme operating end of the lever thereby afl'ording a lateral springaction to this thinner por tion 60".

Normally, the end portion 60 rests against the cap 40 a slight distanceabove the flat pin (5!. which is rigidly secured to the bottom of thecap 40.

l The sprin r action of this lever tends to keep the en 60 against thecap 40 but to positively retain same in this position, a flat bentspring 62 secured to disk 22 may be providedon the other side to bearagainst it when the lever is in the very upper position. This willpositively retain the lever end 60" above pin (51 as it draws the cap 40downardly until released by the beveled pin 63 which deflects the end(30 away from the cap 40 and pin 61 thereby peri'nitting the pressure ofthe air and coil spring within the valve, to raise the cap and close thevalve.

1t obvious then, that it is impossible for the signal to continuewhistling so as to entirely exhaust the tire. The duration of thewhistle signal can be varied by raising or lowering the pivotal support45 and the beveled pin 63, both having a screw connection in disk 22.

It is thought that the illustrations and foregoing description ofconstruction and operation will be clearly understood, therefore, a moreextended explanation is omitted.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a valve mechanism of the kind described, the combination of avalve body, a spring influenced valve member movably mounted within saidbody, a combined inlet and outlet valve within said valve memberarranged to exhaust at a prcdeterminedhigh pressure, and a whistlearranged to signal when the pressure is lowered to a predeterminedpoint.

2. In a valve mechanism of the kind described,'the combination of avalve body, a vertically movable tubular valve member, a combined inletand outlet valve within said member, a diaphragm having its center inengagement with said member, a second valve arranged to sound a whistlesignal, means for exhausting through said valve in said tubular memberat a predetermined high pressure, and means operated by said tubularmember for exhaustmg said second valve to sound the whistle signal atpredetermined low pressure.

3. In avalve mechanism of the kind described, the combination of avalvebody, a movable valve member, a combined inlet and outlet valve withinsaid member, a diaphragm having its center in engagement with said valvemember, a second valve communicating with a whistle signal, means forexhausting through said valve within said member when sald member israised to a predetermined high point by said dia hragm, and independentmeansfor 0 erotmg said whistle valve when said mom or is lowered to apredetermined point.

' mechanism controlled by sai 4. In a valve mechanism of the kind de-'phragm, a second valve communicating with the interior of said memberand with a whistle signal, means within the path of said valve in saidmember arranged to exhaust said valve at a predetermined high pressure,and independent means for operatin said second valve to sound a whistlesigna at a predetermined low pressure.

In a valve niechanism of the kind described, the combination with avalve body adapted for connection with a pneumatic tire, of a movabletubular valve member, a valve within said valve member arranged to filland exhaust the tire, a diaphragm having its margin restrained and itscentral portion engaging said valve member, a spring exerting pressureagainst one side of said diaphragm, adjustable means for varying the 1pressure of said spring, means arranged to automatically exhaust saidvalve at a predetermincd high pressure, and a second valve communicatingwith said tubular valve member and means for operating said second valveto sound a whistle si 11:11 when the pressure is lowered toa preetermined low pressure.

6. In a valve mechanism of the kind described, the combination with avalve body adapted for connection, with a pneumatic tire, of a movablevalve member; a valve within said valve member for filling andexhausting said tire; a 'diaphragm having its margin restrained and itscentral portion engaging said valve member; a spring and an ad ustingscrew for var in the pressure against one side of said d iap ragm; meansfor automatically exhaustin said valve in said member at a predeterminedhigh pres sure; a low pressure whistle signal comprising a whistle, avalve, a; spring normally retaming said valve in closed (position, and avalve member for operating said low pressure whistle valve.

7. In a valvrrmochanism of the kind described, the combination of avalve body, a

movable valve member within said body, a

flexible dia hragm having its margin restramed an its central portionsupporting said movable valve member, an air inlet valve withinsaid'movable member, a second valve air inlet valve when the valvemember is second valve and means for deflectin the raised to apredetermined point, and indeend of said flexible lever to release saidcap 10 pendent means controlled by said valve memand thereby permit saidsecond valve to close. ber for 0 erating said Whistle ca member Inwitness whereof, I have hereunto sub- 5 when sai valve member is lowereto a prescribed my name this 2nd day of November,

determined point, comprisin a, pivotally 1915. mounted flexible leveradapte to move said v whistle member downwardly to open said RAYMOND E.MoKEE.

